Product description

This comprehensive new edition of Wardhaugh's textbook incorporates additional study features and numerous new and updated references to bring the book completely up-to-date, whilst maintaining the features that made the book so popular with lecturers and students: accessible coverage of a wide range of issues, clearly written, and with useful student study features.
A fully revised new edition of Ronald Wardhaugh's popular introduction to sociolinguistics, which now includes over 150 new and updated references and new study features throughout Features new "Explorations" sections in each chapter incorporating suggested readings, discussion sections, and exercises - all designed to encourage students to develop their own skills and ideas Reflects new developments in the field, providing greater focus on ideas such as identity, solidarity, and markedness Provides balanced coverage of a range of topics, including: language dialects, pidgins and Creoles, codes, bilingualism, speech communities, variation, words and culture, ethnographies, solidarity and politeness, talk and action, gender, disadvantage, and planning Comprehensive and accessible, it is the ideal introduction for students coming to sociolinguistics for the first time

Author information

Ronald Wardhaugh is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Toronto. He is the author of a number of books, including Proper English (1998) and Understanding English Grammar (second edition, 2003), both published by Wiley-Blackwell.

Review quote

"Comprehensively, the book provides a rich source of overviews of the field of sociolinguistics that will undoubtedly afford researchers and students in the area insightful knowledge evoking additional future dialogue and research." (LINGUIST List, December 2010) Praise for Previous Editions “The standard text in advanced undergraduate and introductory graduate courses" (Language) “Among the various introductions to sociolinguistics, this one certainly stands out in its comprehensiveness… it offers a wealth of relevant and correct information" (Sociolinguistica)

Back cover copy

Ronald Wardhaugh's "An Introduction to Sociolinguistics" has been a cornerstone of courses in the field for over two decades, maintaining its popularity by combining clear and accessible coverage of a wide range of issues with useful student study features. This comprehensive sixth edition retains these strengths, but has also been updated throughout to reflect developments in the field. New chapter-by-chapter "explorations" sections have been added which encourage students to actively engage with tkey issues in sociolinguistics. The sixth edition includes greater focus on ideas of identity, solidarity, and markedness, while the features that have made this work a classic - the balanced coverage of issues ranging from language dialects and variation, code-switching, bilingualism, and speech communities, to ethnographies, gender, and disadvantage - have been updated to reflect the latest research. Accessible and engaging, this is an ideal introduction for both undergraduates and graduate students with little or no background in sociolinguistics.

Table of contents

Preface. Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction Knowledge of Language Variation Language and Society Sociolinguistics and the Sociology of Language Methodological Concerns Overview Further Reading Part I: Languages and Communities: 2. Languages, Dialects, and Varieties Language or Dialect? Standardization Regional Dialects Social Dialects Styles, Registers, and Beliefs Further Reading 3. Pidgins and Creoles Lingua Francas Definitions Distribution and Characteristics Origins From Pidgin to Creole and Beyond Further Reading 4. Codes Diglossia Bilingualism and Multilingualism Code-Switching Accommodation Further Reading 5. Speech Communities Definitions Intersecting Communities Networks and Repertoires Further Reading Part II: Inherent Variety: 6. Language Variation Regional Variation The Linguistic Variable Social Variation Data Collection and Analysis Further Reading 7. Some Findings and Issues An Early Study New York City Norwich and Reading A Variety of Studies Belfast Controversies Further Reading 8. Change The Traditional View Some Changes in Progress The Process of Change Further Reading Part III: Words at Work: 9. Words and Culture Whorf Kinship Taxonomies Color Prototypes Taboo and Euphemism Further Reading 10. Ethnographies Varieties of Talk The Ethnography of Speaking Ethnomethodology Further Reading 11. Solidarity and Politeness Tu and Vous Address Terms Politeness Further Reading 12. Talk and Action Speech Acts Cooperation Conversation Further Reading Part IV: Understanding and Intervening: 13. Gender Differences Possible Explanations Further Reading 14. Disadvantage Codes Again African American English Consequences for Education Further Reading 15. Planning Issues A Variety of Situations Further Examples Winners and Losers Further Reading 16. Conclusion References Index